Excavating bucket



C. D. DE VELBISS EXCAVATING BUCKET Jan; 14,1941.

Filed om. 12, 195e 2 sneeas-sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY v Jan 14,1941 c. D. DE: vELBlss I 2,228,445

n E XCAVATING BUCKET 2 sneets-shet 2.

Filed Oct. 12, 1938' U, W w 7 ...m y. a@ Eb R 5. 0 f /0 V6 T La@ f0.6 mV. T @i I u, l W T J| l @JJ/ .4 9 5 4 L. F v P I W if TVM mi. Uw, f f m 7n0 070.? A ,f v 9 f /7 1 M1 J /l- Q/U PeientedJe'n. 14, 1941 UNITED :sfrfArEs ,1 'r1a:l\1frv oFFicl;

-ExcAvArING BUCKET 7 cnnies Dudley neveniiss, oakland, caux.

Application October 12,

193s. serial Ne. 234,615

s claims. (ci. 26a-9) The invention relates to excavating buckets or dippers such as used in condunctionwith powerdriven excavating machinery.

While power-driven excavating machinery such as shovels, drag-lines, trench diggers and the like are widely used for the economical excavation of large quantities of earth, such machines are frequently rendered ineffectual and substantially useless in dislodging certain types of earth, such as either very hard and compact earth on theone hand, or heavy-bodied stickyV earth, such as some clays, on the other hand. The dimculty in excavating such earth lies. in the inability of the shovel bucket to properly loosen and dislodge the earth for movement into the bucket. Ordinarily an excavating-bucket is provided with a plurality of teeth on the leading lower edge of the bucket for engaging in and loosening the earth in advance of the bucket. However, where the Aearth is very hard and compact, these teeth can only be driven into the earth with great force, and on the other hand when the earth is heavy-bodied and soggy and sticky, the movement of the bucket through the earth offers such a viscous resistance that an extremely large amount ofpower is required to pass the bucket into and through the earth.

In accordance with' the present invention and as one of the principal objects thereof, I provide an excavating bucket of the character described having a plurality of movable bucket teethwhich may be power-driven to lpositively dislodge the earth by means of aforce separate from and far greater than the normal force of engagement of the bucket againstthe earth. .With the present bucket, hard andcompact earth may be quickly and readily broken and loosened up for movement into the bucket and on the other hand, when the bucket is used with soft, heavy-bodied soggy or sticky earth, the teeth act to positively sever the earth and pass the same into the bucket without the necessity of cutting s uch earth with the inert,

dull leading edge of the bucket.

Another' object of the invention` is to provide an excavating bucket of the characterdescribed which will,automatically act to free the bucket teeth from earth deposited thereon and compacted thereagainst.

A further object of the invention isto provide an excavating bucket of the character above which may be used with substantially all existing types of excavating machinery, such as powershovels, drag-lines, trench diggers or pull shovels, or the like.

The invention possesses other objects and fea- 'l stantially on the plane of line 2-2 Y. tures of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated inthe drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said d awlngs and description may be adopted withinY e scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an excavating bucket constructed in accordance with the present invention. l

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the bucket illustrated in Figure 1 and is taken subof Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional' view of a portion of the bucket and is taken substantially on the plane 0f line 3-3 of Figure 1.

.-Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the bucket.

Figure 5 is van enlarged sectional view of a part of the bucket showing the pneumatic motor driving means. y v

Figure 6 is a side elevation of a power-driven trench digger wardly of the open side of the bucket, and motor means preferably of a pneumatic type for driving the tooth or teeth to a forwardlir extended posi- 35 tion relative to the bucket, so as to forcefully'engage and loosen the earth in advance of the bucket.

More specifically and with reference to the accompanying drawings, the the present invention consists of a dipper body 1 providing an internal chamber 8 defined between opposite side walls 9 and Il, opposed top and bottom walls l2 and I3 and rear wall I4, thebody being provided with an open front por- 45 tion I6 defined between the leading edges ofthe side and bottom and top walls, for passage of earth into` the interior chamber 8. The bucket is sc .formed and normally supported by the excavating apparatus as to position the leading 50 face il of the bottom wall somewhat forwardly of the leading faces of the side and top walls, and inv accordance with this form of construction I prefer t'o mount a plurality of bucket teeth I8 on the Ybottom wall, so thatfthe teeth will 6I- type of excavating machine with 25- the present bucket connected thereto.

bucket or dipper of 40 l these teeth are movably secured to the bucket and as here shown, each bucket tooth I8 is provided with' a shank portion |9 which is slidably received in a bore 2| provided in the bottom wall |3 and extending rearwardly from the leading front edge thereof. Preferably. the shank I9 and bore 2| are of non-circular cross-section such as the polygonal form here shown, so as to retain the tooth against rotation relative to the bucket. To further assist in the support of the tooth, the latter may be provided with an annular slotted portion I 5 which is slidably engaged over a tubular extension 20 on the bottom wall. Preferably, a helical spring 24 compressed between abutments 26 and 21 on the shank and bore wall urges the tooth to retracted position .relative to the leading edge II of the bottom wall.' Y

In accordance with the present invention and as above noted, motive means is used for drivingl 'the teeth |8 to an outwardly extended position s o as to positively drive the teeth into the earth ahead of the bucket to loosen and dislodge such earth for ready movement into the bucket. Preferably, such motive means isl of the pneumatic air-hammer type and in the present bucket I use an individual motive means for each of the teeth. Accordingly, a description of one of these motive means will suiice.

The motive means associated with each of the teeth consists of an elongated cylinder 28 formed preferablydrectly in the bottom wall I3 of the bucket and preferably in substantial alignment with the bore 2|. A piston 29, preferably of the solid slug type, is reciprocally mounted within the cylinder for movement between the head end 3| thereof and an insert member 32 positioned in the cylinder adjacent to and registering with the inner end of the bore 2|. The insert member 32 provides at its rearward end a seat 33 for one end' 34 of the piston and reciprocally carries a connecting member .36 for the piston and tooth shank. The member 39 is preferably provided with an enlargement 31 which cooperates with an enlargement 38 in the bore of the insert 32 for limiting the reciprocal movement of the member 3B.

A suitable fiuid inletpassage and valve means is associated with the cylinder and piston for der. effected by alternately connecting the ends of the cylinderto uid under,` pressure, while the opposite end of the cylinder'is at a reduced pressure. As here shown with particular reference to Fig- .ure 5, the cylinder is providedv with a fluid inlet passage 39 whichpreferably enters to the cylinder at the head end 3| thereof. Mounted in the headend of the cylinder inopposed relation to the air inlet passage/39 is a spool type slidevvalve 4| which is@ reciprocally carried on a`jcentrally disposed guide 42 formed integrally with one of the cylinder head members 43. The member ,43

is provided with a circumferentially extendingshoulder 44 which `provides a stop for the upward movement of the valve 4I, and opening to this shoulder is a fluid passage 48 which-,extends laterally v1therefrom into the wall portion of the cylinder 28, and longitudinally tothe end of the cylinder adjacent to the insert/member 32. 'I'he valve 4| is so-formedfthat in its upward position against the shoulder 44, the same will seal'oi charge passage 49 which, as here shown, is embodied in the bottom wall and extends longitudinally of the cylinder to the rear wall of the bucket and functions to communicate the cylinder to the atmosphere for alternately relieving the pressure at the ends of the cylinder.

The operation of the pneumatic motive means, as will be clear from the above. is as follows: With the valve in raised position, asindicated in Figure 5, the fluid under pressurel enters the head end of the cylinder and drives the piston downwardly therein, while the iiuidin the cylinder below the piston escapes through the discharge passage 49. As the piston passes the discharge passage 49, this passage is sealed off and the fluid below the piston is placed underl compression and passes back through passage 46 to the head end of the cylinder, where the uid engages the top surface of the valve and displaces the same downward to change the position of the valve to that shown in dotted lines in Figure 5. Meanwhile, the piston, due toits momentum, continues its downward movement and forcibly strikes V,the connecting member 36 to drive the bucket tooth to a downwardly extended position. With the change of position of the valve, as above noted, the, fluid passes from passage 39 into passage 46 to the lower end of the cylinder to engage under the piston to raise the same inthe cylinder, while the uid above the piston is relieved through passage 49. As the piston passes passage 49 inits upward movement, this passage-is again sealed off and theuid in the cylinder above the piston is placed under compression, tending to resist the upward movement of the piston and also throwing the valve to upwardlposition. as first described. As soon as the valve is moved to upward position fluid undert pressure passes into the head end of ,the cylinder and resists the upward movement of the piston and brings the piston to.a stop short ofthe head end of the cylinder a'nd thereby protects the valve and other parts at the headend against impact. Upon stopping of the piston, .the movement of thel piston is reversed and thesame starts its downward movement as first described;

, As indicated in Figure 1, fluid under pressure is preferably conveyed to the bucket lby means of a flexible conduit 5| which is connected to a fluid inlet fitting ,52' in the top Wall I2 of the bucket. The fitting, as will be seen in Figure 3, is mounted in a passage 53 which is communicated to a cross-passage 54 which in turn connects a pair of passages 56 and 51 extending to a rear surface 58 on an fenlargement 59 on the top wall in which( the several passages are contained. Secured in passages 56 andI'I at the surface 58 are a pair of conduit fittings 6| `Whichconnect these passages with conduits 2 `and 63 4extending rearwardly over the top wall I2 and downwardly across the rear wall I4 of the bucket to a pair of fittings 64 and 66 mounted between and connected to pairs of cylinder head-members 61 and 68, 69 and 'l|. Preferably, a pair of sheaths 12 and 13 are fas- `normally extending position' by'said piston, valve tened to the top and rear walls l2 and Il of the 'xbucket in enclosing relation to the conduits 62 and 63. y As abovenoted, the bucket of the present invention may be used with substantially any form of power-driven excavating machine, and in Figure 6 I have illustrated the bucket connected to a .conventional type'ditch digger or pullshovel.` The bucket may be connected to the boom 14 of the. excavator by means of dipper sticks 16 and a cable 'I1 in the usual manner.

As an important feature of the lpresent inven-V tionA the pneumatic driving mechanisms for the teeth are arranged on the bucket so that the supporting parts or casings for'such mechanisms are subjected to a minimum amount of wear. In the present bucket the bottom surface of the bucket is formed smooth and continuous from the front to the rear and from side to side of the bottom wall, whereby a large wearing area -is provided.

In carrying out this construction the cylinders,

for the pneumatic hammers are formed directly in the body of the bottom wall of the bucket and this latter wall is sufiiciently enlarged in thickness over a standard bucket bottom to accommoy,

date the inclusion .of the cylinders. LIn addition the lower end of the rear wall I4 and the rear end of the bottom Wall are joined together in a smooth rounded curve', so as to minimize the strain and wear on the bucket at the heel portion thereof and at the same time the head ends of the pneumatic devices are completely contained within'the body of the bucket at the heel and thereby protected against exposure and wearing at this point.r As will be seen in Figures 1 and 4,'

a'v transverse recess 80 is provided in the bottom wall at the rear thereof in which are mounted the cylinder' head members 61, 68, 63 and 'Il and these head menrbers are' completely contained within the enclosurev of the recess. Also, the discharge passages 49 of the severalpneumaticunits terminate at the rear end of the bottom wall vin the aforementioned recess 8 0, so that a free discharge of air from the units is provided. The discharging air also assists in removing any dirt which may lodge in the recess, although the recess being positioned at the rear of the bucket ,is substantially free from dirt deposit. It will now be clear that in the use of the present bucket with any conventional type excavating machine, theI earth will be positively and forcibly loosened by the power-driven teeth of the bucket `for ready displacement into the bucket, regardless'of the hard or sticky character of the earth. It will also be clear that dueto the rapid and power-driven movement of the teeth, the latter -will constantly free themselves from any earth which tends to compact against the teeth, so that the 'teeth will always maintain themselves clean and free from adhering" earth.

1. An excavating bucket adapted for connec-y tion to a power-driven excavating apparatus and having side and bottom walls dening a chamber with an open front portion adapted for receipt of earth or the like through said portion into said chamber, a bucket tooth movably carried by said bottom wall and projecting forwardly in advance of the leading edge of said bottom wall. said boty tom'wall being provided with a longitudinal cy- `lindrical'bore in substantial alignment with said tooth, a`piston reciprocally mountedin said cylindrical bore, connection means for said piston .and tooth providing 'for a driving of said tooth to a vbeing positioned outside of said chamber, said of the bucket.

means and fluid inlet means for said cylinder engaged in said borel and spaced from said piston for conveying fluid under pressure into said cylinder for reciprocating said piston,`and a fluid con- 5 duit extending from the rear portion of said bot- 'tom wall to said fluid inlet means.

2. An excavating bucket adapted for connection to a power-driven excavating apparatus and 'having side and bottom walls defining a chamber 10 with an open front portion adapted for receipt/of earthor the like through said portion into said chamber, a bucket tooth movably carried by said bottom wall and projecting fowardly of the leading edge of said bottom wall, a pneumatically operated mechanism carried by said bottom wall and connected to said tooth for driving the same to a forwardly extended position, said mechanism bottom wall having a smooth, straight and continuous under-surface extending from substantially the front to the rear and from side to side 3. An excavating bucket adapted for connection to a power-driven excavating apparatus and having side and bottom walls defining a chamber with an open front portion adapted for receipt oi earth or the like through said portion into said chamber, a bucket tooth movably carried byv said 30 bottom wall and projecting forwardly Vof the leading edge of said bottom wall, a pneumaticallyv operated mechanism connected to said tooth fordriving the same to a forwardly extended posirectly 1n the body of said bottom wall, a piston 3.5

tion and including a'cylinder incorporated direciprocally carried in said cylinder, connection means for said piston -and tooth, and valve and passage means associated with said cylinder and piston` at the end of said lcylinder spaced from said connection means and being inserted into 0 said bottom wall from a rear side thereof and adapted for connection to a source of pressure lfor reciprocally driving said piston.

4. IAn excavating bucket adapted for connection to a power-drivenexcavating apparatus'and 5 having side and bottom walls defining a chamber with an open front portion adapted for receipt of earth or the like through said portion into said chamber, a bucket tooth movably carried by said bottom wall and projecting forwardly of the lead- 5 Aing edge of said bottom wall, a pneumatically operated mechanism connected to said toothfor driving the-same to a forwardly extended position and including a cylinder incorporated directly in the body of said bottom wall, a piston reciprocally carried in said cylinder, connection means for'said piston and tooth, and valve and passage means associated with said cylinder and piston andadaptecl for connection to a source of pressure for reciprocally driving said piston, the under-side of said bottom wall being smooth and substantially planar from the front to the rear and from side to side of the bottom wall of the bucket.

5. An excavating bucket adapted for vconnecs tion to an excavating apparatus and having side and bottom walls dening an earth container, said bottom Wall having an opening therein at the forward end thereof-and a forwardly extend- 70 ing tubular portion `surrounding said opening, a

bucket tooth having a shank slidably mounted in said opening` and provided -with an annular opening teiescopically'engaged with said tubular portion, and a pneumatically operated mechau anism carried by said bottom wall and connected to said tooth for driving the same to a forwardly extended position. n

6. `An excavating bucket adapted for connection to a powerxdriven excavating apparatus and having side and bottom walls defining a chamber with an open front portion adapted for receipt of earth or the like through said portion into said chamber, a thick bottom wall formed integrally with said bucket, a` cylindrical bore extending longitudinally through said bottom wail `from the front to the rear portion thereof, a bucket tooth movably carried by said bottom wall and extend- Ving into said bore at the front side of said bottom wall, a pneumatic piston mounted in said bore and operable to drive said tooth forwardly of said bucket, means engageable in the rear portion of said bore and including a. covering for said bore and valve and air connection means formed for lconnection to said bore and a source of pressure. v

` CHARLES DUDLEY DE VELBISS. 

